Tag Archives: steve martin

Click to see a gallery of photos from Friday night at Bonnaroo, including Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers (this image: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey).

"It's been a longtime dream of mine, to play bluegrass at Bonnaroo," Steve Martin said from the stage of the festival's That Tent Friday night. "Tonight, I feel I am one step closer to that goal."

The line got a good laugh, and it set the pace for Martin's hourlong set with bluegrass crew the Steep Canyon Rangers -- Martin would set up with a funny line, and he and the band would launch into serious bluegrass music.

Martin's comedy shtick, in this context, mostly centers on downlplaying his prowess as a musician -- it's funny, and it to an extent calls out the actor/musician-switch elephant that's always kind of hiding in the corner. But truth is -- and between the Grammys and IBMA Awards, we all kinda know this by now: He's a plenty skilled banjo player. And the fact that he chose to play with the Steep Canyon Rangers -- a slick North Carolina outfit with feel and fluidity -- shows he bears another important asset: taste.Continue reading →

Click to see a photo gallery of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Bonnaroo (this image: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean).

Bruce Springsteen. James Brown. Tom Petty. B.B. King.

For a festival that many associate with a college-aged crowd, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has welcomed more than its share of performers in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s over the years. This year, R&B legend Stevie Wonder shares the fest’s coveted Saturday night slot with rap superstar Jay-Z. At their best, these sorts of bookings can connect musical veterans with a new audience -- and turn young music lovers on to classic sounds while coaxing many middle-aged fans out of suburbia and back onto festival grounds.

Rick Farman of Bonnaroo co-producers Superfly Productions says the festival is “an opportunity to check one of those legends off your list.”

“When we had James Brown (in 2003), there were a lot of people who saw him that year that were like, ‘Wow, I got to see James Brown.’ If he was playing at an arena or amphitheater or club near them, would they necessarily go out and buy a ticket? Maybe not. But because it’s at a festival and they’re coming to see 20 or 30 other bands, they’re really excited to see that act.”

While Wonder and reggae figurehead Jimmy Cliff will perform on Bonnaroo’s biggest stage, there are many more veteran acts holding court in Bonnaroo’s mid-sized tent stages. Jeff Beck, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and Steve Martin are sharing lineups with artists just a fraction of their age — and if Bonnaroos past are any indication, they’ll be just as warmly received.Continue reading →

Fans of Steve Martin's 2009 bluegrass release, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, apparently won't have to wait too long for its follow-up.

The comedian/actor-turned-banjo star told Billboard.com that he has plans to get into the studio in August with North Carolina-based tourmates The Steep Canyon Rangers, with hopes of releasing a new album early next year.

"I have most of the songs," Martin told Billboard. "I have 11 songs, and I think we need 12 or 13 -- and I'm very happy with them."

Martin also told Billboard.com that like The Crow, this new set would be focused on original music.

"There's no point for me not to do original compositions," he said. "What do I do -- cover somebody else's song? That's ridiculous. They could get a better singer to do it. The only contribution I could make, really, is in the writing."

Middle Tennessee fans will have a chance to check out Martin's live show with The Steep Canyon Rangers this summer, when they come to the Bonnaroo festival, set for June 10-13 in Manchester.

That live show is continuing to go over plenty well -- a recent Associated Press feature on Martin notes that the famed comedian plays "with such conviction and skill that he's clearly not joking." Read that interview after the jump.Continue reading →

Ah, the soothing sound of bluegrass. Steve Martin — who has logged time lately in Music City while focusing on his music career — is using his banjo for more than picking. The Associated Press reports that it helped get him through the Oscars.

LOS ANGELES — Steve Martin says playing the banjo helped prepare him for his Oscar-hosting gig.

The 64-year-old actor-writer-musician says performing live with the Steep Canyon Rangers made him feel comfortable on the Kodak Theatre stage at the Oscars.

Martin says he wasn't sure why he wasn't nervous before co-hosting the March 7 Oscars with Alec Baldwin, but a friend suggested maybe it was because he'd been in front of audiences around the country with his banjo.Continue reading →

Ed Helms, a.k.a. Andy Bernard, is such a big-time bluegrass fan, he's helped launch a five-day bluegrass fest at West Hollywood club Largo called The Los Angeles Bluegrass Situation, pulling together a mix of performers that includes local treasures Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings and The Infamous Stringdusters, as well as North Carolina crew Steep Canyon Rangers and their comedy hero-turned-breakout bluegrass star pal Steve Martin, among others.

Helms -- a bluegrass musician himself, playing guitar with New York's The Lonesome Trio -- talked with AOL's Spinner.com about the fest, scheduled for March 18-22. The idea, he said, grew out of his own experiences at bluegrass fests.

"I mentioned this idea to the Largo people to try and stir up some bluegrass in L.A. because there are so many bluegrass festivals and they're so fun," Helms told Spinner. "They're such a great community-building event and there's just nothing like that here in L.A. But I know that there are bluegrass fans and I know there's kind of a community waiting to gel."

Check out Helms' talk with Spinner HERE, and get more info about the Los Angeles Bluegrass Situation HERE.

Nashville Public Television will host the broadcast premiere of Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert on January 14 -- two months before PBS plans to air the concert special national as part of their March fundraising drive.

Budding videographers with a penchant for banjo music and canine companionship: Actor/comedian/banjo whiz Steve Martin has a contest that'll shoot straight up your alley.

Martin's recent The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo album features a song called “Wally On The Run,” which Martin was inspired to write while watching his four-legged friend Wally bound around the yard. So, Martin says he'd like to have an appropriate video for the tune, featuring dogs frolicking, or other such apropos visuals.

Folks who'd like to take a stab at a "Wally" spot can visit Dailymotion.com/group/WallyOnTheRun to download the song, upload their own video and check out other submissions. Martin, of course, has a treat for the fan with the best video (which he'll choose himself): $1000. The runner-up gets a slightly less exciting prize: a $.99 refund for the song download.

The video contest runs through December 1, and thus far, the competition isn't all that stiff -- there were a half-dozen submissions up when we checked, and, well, with all love and respect for the creators (and dogs), Michel Gondry probably doesn't need to fear for his job security just yet. While you consider your take on a "Wally" video, check after the jump for some direction straight from the songwriter.

Comedian Steve Martin leaves after a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman outside the Ed Sullivan Theater Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 in New York (this photo: Jason DeCrow/Associated Press).

Making national news again: David Letterman back on his late-night talk show for the first night after a weekend of dealing with fallout from his extortion/sex scandal. Playing second fiddle to his extortion case: Nashville.

Comedian/actor-turned bluegrass musician Steve Martin was his first guest on Monday night after a monologue in which Letterman cracked jokes about the scandal and then apologized to his wife and staff. On Thursday night, Letterman revealed on his show that he had testified before a New York grand jury in an attempted extortion case, an alleged $2 million attempt based on his now-admitted sexual relationships with members of his staff.

When Martin came out Monday, he sat down and, with arms folded, joked, “I had a great weekend,” a reference to Letterman’s earlier sarcastic opener about the weekend “flying by.” “Seriously, I was going to come out and make a few jokes, but it’s really not funny. It’s a little bit funny. I do think the one thing that will come out of this mess, that has come out already, is it proves you’re a human being. We weren’t really that sure before.”

Martin then made Music City a big part of his guest spot, talking about his bluegrass career, Nashville’s International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, Gruhn Guitars on Lower Broadway and a conversation he had with Earl Scruggs and his late wife Louise about banjos.Continue reading →

Those who haven't yet managed to catch Martin's impressive banjo skills -- showcased on his The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, released earlier this year -- have quite a few chances coming up. He heads to David Letterman's show on Mon., Oct. 5, and to The View on Oct. 6. (Letterman is on at 10:35 p.m. central on CBS; The View is 10 a.m. central on ABC.)

Martin is also headed back to Nashville on October 11 to headline the Ryman (116 Fifth Ave. N.), with Steep Canyon Rangers and John McEuen. That show's set to start at 7:30 p.m., and tickets run $45-$85 via Ticketmaster (1-800-745-3000) and the Ryman (615-889-3060).